Board of Directors
Hilary Hansen
Hilary has been riding horses since she was a toddler with her first babysitter. She worked for a few different trainers as a teenager, and started gentling and training horses a couple of years after that. She has helped countless horses (including Mustangs, Off-the-Track Thoroughbreds, Kill Pen and other unwanted horses) find good homes over the years. As a certified TIP Trainer, she has gentled several Mustangs and is currently in the process of gentling her 13th from the BLM holding facilities. She is passionate about helping Mustangs get out of holding pens and into loving homes, and is the inspiration behind the First Annual Mustang Showcase.
Jen Hope
Jen Hope is a mother of four children and five horses, and together with her husband she makes her home on a ranch in Sebastopol. With a lifelong love of animals and more than 25 years of experience, caring for both mustangs and domestic horses. She and her family are all makers with deep love of creating. She is a novice potter and archer. Jens passion is caring for animals and people. She is a certified Emotion, Body, and Belief Code practitioner, Breath work facilitator, and massage therapist, supporting both people and animals in trauma restoration through intuitive kinesiology and the healing guidance of her mustangs.
Honored to serve as a contributing board member of Wild Heart Restart Ranch, she is dedicated to supporting mustangs and all animals who pass through its doors with love and compassion.
Kelly Hansen
Growing up, Kelly loved horses. They’ve always played a big role in her life, and still do. Kelly excels at hiking the horsers who aren’t ready to be saddled, on miles of trails, so that they too can experience all the fun the world has to offer. She is great at bringing a calm and peaceful presence to any wildness she finds. Kelly plays an important support role to Wild Heart in many ways, including hauling trailers and driving just about any vehicle. When she isn’t helping with Wild Heart chores (cleaning, feeding, getting the horses used to everyday things and doing other odd projects), she’s helping others with her organizing business. Her other passion is being on the lake, enjoying time with her family and friends.
Gina Ruth
Gina Ruth owns and operates Open Water Farms Horse Kindergarten and Training out of Petaluma’s beautiful Hawkwood Hill Farm. Gina is a hunter/jumper trainer who specializes in starting and developing young sporthorses and restarting sporthorses with behavioral challenges. When Gina is not working horses, she enjoys playing music and exploring wild landscapes.